"Easing Parents' Burden and Fostering Athletic Talent: Dongdaemun District Expands Subsidies for School Sports Teams"

Up to KRW 10 Million Support for Individual Sports

Dongdaemun District in Seoul (Mayor Ilpyeong Lee) announced on April 21 that it will expand subsidies for school sports team education expenses to improve training conditions for student athletes and to ease the financial burden on parents.

Ilpyeong Lee, Mayor of Dongdaemun District. Courtesy of Dongdaemun District Office.

Until now, the support from the Office of Education for school sports teams has been focused mainly on basic operating costs, such as salaries for full-time coaches. As a result, parents often had to share the costs of meals, accommodations, transportation, and entry fees required for competitions.

The expanded support covers a wide range of operating expenses, including improvements to sports team facilities and spaces, as well as transportation, lodging, and equipment rental costs associated with training and competition participation. This year, the support criteria for individual sports have been raised to reflect increased living costs and actual operating expenses. For teams with fewer than five members, up to KRW 5 million will be provided; for teams with five to fewer than ten members, up to KRW 7 million; and for teams with ten or more members, up to KRW 10 million. For team sports, the support standards have also been revised to ensure effective assistance based on the number of participants.

Since last year, the district has introduced a differentiated support system that takes into account the current operation and the number of athletes in each sports team. This year, the system has been further refined. The eligible recipients are elementary, middle, and high schools operating school sports teams in Dongdaemun District. Applications for the program will be accepted in April, and the subsidies are scheduled to be distributed by May.

The district also cited the victory of the shooting team from Jeonnong Middle School in the team event at the Seoul Mayor’s Cup last year as an example of continued achievements at the school level.

Ilpyeong Lee, Mayor of Dongdaemun District, said, “We will help student athletes nurture their dreams to the fullest in a better environment,” adding, “We will continue to broaden substantial support so that student athletes can fully focus on training and competitions.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.